


Valentine

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [12]
Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Idiots in Love, Love, Magic, Sex, Sharing a Bed, Truth Spells, Vegas, Working things out, Zatanna ships Chlollie, adorable blondes, get your shit together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:33:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24236578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver head to Las Vegas to meet with Zatanna, who will try to help them locate Lex, but she just might open their eyes to something else entirely.
Relationships: Oliver Queen & Chloe Sullivan & Zatanna Zatara, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Las Vegas, Nevada -- February 13, 2011**

It had been awhile since he'd been to Vegas. He used to go on a fairly regular basis--back in the days when drinking, drugs, gambling and women had been a part of his everyday hobbies. But as he looked around the crowded casino, he realized how much he _didn't_ miss that life. He glanced down at where Chloe stood at his side, her eyes a little wide as she took in the sights. Without thinking about it, he wrapped his arm around her waist.

They had been held up in Metropolis after receiving a text from their mystery informant that read 'He's still there.' They'd proceeded to search what to Oliver seemed like every inch of the entire state of Kansas and had turned up nothing. Tess hadn't contacted him again, either. He was relieved when he'd contacted Zatanna and she assured him she wasn't leaving Vegas anytime soon. Apparently she was performing magic shows for the next several weeks. Somehow he wasn't surprised she'd chosen Vegas as her platform. She'd definitely left him with the impression that she enjoyed attention. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing.

"Don't suppose you wanna head straight for the room?" he suggested, ducking his head toward her so she could hear him over the sound of the slot machines.

"Well, we do have to drop everything off," she told him, finally managing to take her eyes from all the lights, machines and interesting looking people and look up at him, "when are we meeting with Zatanna?"

"Well." He paused for a moment and offered her a sheepish grin. "We're sort of going to her show tonight."

Chloe raised her eyebrows slowly at him, suddenly glad that she had gone back to the Talon apartment and picked up some of her formal dresses for this particular trip, "of course we are."

He grinned and shrugged a little. "Why pass up the opportunity to see a friend in her natural form?"

"With free tickets on top of it, I'm sure," she said, giving him a knowing look and pulling her phone from her purse to check on it, "what time is the show?"

Oliver glanced at his watch. "Nine," he told her.

"We have some time then," she took a deep breath and looked around again then shrugged, "I guess we can go upstairs." Because the main hall was completely covered in hearts and other sickeningly pink and red decorations. Apparently she had completely forgotten about Valentine's Day approaching.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "All right. Let's get outta here," he agreed, picking up their luggage once more.

Chloe picked up the smaller bag that contained her laptop and other important files and walked with him toward the elevators, "is this where you usually stay?"

"I haven't been in a long time," he told her. "I usually stay at Caesar's Palace."

She nodded a little, checking on the key before pressing the floor number once they were inside the elevator, "why did you choose this one?"

Oliver shrugged a little, glancing at her. "Figured might as well stay someplace different for a change."

"Not complaining, just curious." She told him, smiling a little.

"I know." He smiled back faintly.

She looked at him for a second then moved to stand by the elevator glass and look down at the people playing the machines, "pretty busy in here."

"Sin City," he told her with a small smirk. "Most people who come here don't bother with sleeping while they're here."

"That wouldn't be any different from everyday for us, would it?" She asked, smirking a little more and raising a single eyebrow suggestively.

Oliver grinned at her. "We tend to be a little more productive than the average tourists."

"I would hope so, losing thousands of dollars in gambling is pretty anti-productive," she told him with a grin.

"That's not even a drop in the bucket," he informed her.

"Oh, I know, I'm just saying, that's more than enough for the average person," she told him, smirking, "combined with the most dangerous marketing tagline of all time, it's enough for someone to completely ruin their lives during their vacation."

"Oh, I don't know. I don't think _everyone_ that winds up in Vegas ends up ruining their lives." He gazed at her.

"No, of course not, you're generalizing, Mr. Queen. I'm talking about the more dramatic situations," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"So was I," he answered.

Chloe watched him for a second then frowned a little, opening her mouth to speak then closing again as the elevator door slid open, she glanced at him then made her way out of the elevator. She knew what he was referring to, so she was going to drop the subject altogether.

He sighed softly and then followed her off the elevator and down the hallway toward their room. At least this time they already knew they'd be sharing a room. And a bed. It was a step up from the last time they'd spent the night in a hotel anyway.

She slid the keycard into the keypad and watched as the light turned green then pushed her door open, her breath caught when she saw the suite, "Oliver..."

"Huh?" His eyebrows furrowed a little as he paused right behind her.

"You could have gotten us a _regular_ room," she told him, pursing her lips together and hesitantly stepping inside.

"Since when do I ever do anything _regular_?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as he followed her inside the room and shut the door behind them.

Chloe shot him a look over her shoulder then pulled the laptop back over her head and placed it on one of the _three_ couches.

Oliver flashed her an innocent grin and set their luggage down. "What?"

"You do realize we're here to work, right?" She asked, turning to face him, raising her eyebrows and placing her hands on her hips.

"And there's a reason we can't do that in a nice, spacious room?" He frowned a little.

"Uh huh," she gave him a knowing look.

"What?"

"I know you," she said simply, checking on her phone again when it beeped and quickly replying to a text message from her cousin.

His frown deepened just a little as he watched her. "Are you saying I'm not making work enough of a priority?"

Chloe looked up from her phone after a moment and frowned, "no, but you don't seem to mind the constant distractions either."

"I multitask," he said with a slight shrug.

"Maybe it's time we multitask less and we focus some more on the fact that Lex got extremely close to actually managing to get you killed," she said firmly, raising an eyebrow at him and taking her suitcase from him before setting it up on a desk with some difficulty.

At that, his eyes narrowed. "Our multitasking wasn't the problem, Chloe."

"It didn't help either," she unzipped the suitcase and took a deep breath, looking over at him, "look, I'm just saying we can't just... forget why we are here and act like this is a vacation."

Oliver stared at her for a moment. "I never intended to."

"Good, then we don't have a problem," she said simply, looking back down at her suitcase and pulling out a couple of dresses so she could hang them.

Right. Except they did, apparently. "Are you all right?" he asked, shaking his head, feeling baffled by her sudden demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she told him, looking over at him then moving to the closet, "I should probably go shower and get ready for tonight, I assume we have to dress up."

His jaw tightened just a little. "Yeah."

Chloe nodded a little and smiled slightly at him then moved to her suitcase again, picking up a small bag, "I won't be long," she told him before making her way into the bathroom, pausing just for a second when she saw the size of the tub, or more precisely, the size of the Jacuzzi, then closing the door behind her.

"Take your time," he mumbled, watching her close the door behind her and then heading over to the mini-bar. He poured himself a drink of whiskey and downed it quickly. They were off to a wonderful start.

* * *

**MGM Grand, Las Vegas -- February 13, 2011**

A few hours later, Chloe and Oliver made their way out of their room and to the lobby of the hotel once more, luckily, although, she didn't believe it was coincidental, Zatanna was performing in the same hotel they were staying.

Chloe glanced in a mirror as they walked past it and ran a hand down the front of her sea green dress and checked her reflection then looked over at Oliver, "think we will be able to talk to her before the show, then?"

"Probably not until after," he responded with a slight shrug, not looking at her as they walked.

The tension hadn't gone unnoticed by her, but she hadn't said a word about it. She would apologize once she made sure tomorrow went by without incidents.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as they paused in the entryway to the showroom. "We have table reservations," he informed her, hesitantly holding his arm out to her.

Chloe, however, didn't hesitate before taking his arm and walking with him, "she better not call us up on stage."

"What? Don't want to be sawed in half?" he asked wryly.

"Every girl's dream," she deadpanned as they walked inside the theater.

"Yeah, well. Maybe she'll call _me_ up to get sawed in half instead," he responded.

"I suppose that would make more sense coming from a female magician," she told him, "besides, people would like your celebrity status."

"If you say so," Oliver said nonchalantly, guiding her toward a table at the front of the crowded room, near the stage.

She managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes this time, she knew that his bad mood was her fault and maybe, just maybe, if she had a couple of drinks, she would be able to tell him what the problem actually was. So she took her seat when he pulled her chair but didn't say anything else.

He took the seat beside her so he could see the stage. "Hungry?" he asked, glancing toward the menu on their table.

"I could eat," she told him, pulling the menu toward them and holding it open in the middle so he could see it too.

A small smile touched his lips at the gesture and he leaned over to study the menu, glancing at her briefly. "Looks like we have quite a decision to make."

"Decision?" She raised her eyebrows, "they have fries," she pointed out, lifting a finger to the other page, "and wine. I think we're set."

A short chuckle escaped him. "Fries and wine. Interesting combination," he teased.

"I'm open to suggestions," she told him, smiling a little, "but for the record, fries go with everything."

He smiled at her, meeting her eyes for a moment. "Fine by me," he told her, motioning to one of the waiters and placing their order.

Chloe relaxed a little when he met her eyes and hesitated for a second, waiting for the waiter to walk away before reaching for his hand and giving it a light squeeze.

Oliver looked down at their hands with vague surprise, then laced his fingers through hers wordlessly and squeezed it back in return.

She relaxed a little more and sat back against her seat, glancing wordlessly at him before looking around the theater. She really had to figure out a way to take care of her issues without hurting him in the process.

At that moment, the curtains on stage were pulled and revealed Zatanna standing there, smiling brightly at the crowd. She glanced over at them and grinned, lifting her hand in a wave.

Oliver grinned back and lifted his free hand to wave back at her.

Chloe waved back and smiled, she liked Zatanna, but she had a bad feeling about this. Possibly because the last two times Zatanna was around, Chloe herself had been more involved in... magic stuff than she would have liked to. And sure, the second time around, it hadn't been Zatanna's fault, but still, magic made her a little nervous.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." She flashed a smile at Oliver and Chloe then looked around. "Are you ready for a _magical_ evening?"

* * *

Much to her surprise, the magic show had gone on without incident. Chloe and Oliver were not called to her audience participation numbers, which she made a mental note to thank Zatanna for when she saw her, and once the show was over, they made their way to the side of the stage so they could meet with her.

"So glad you could make it." Zatanna smiled at them as they approached. She nodded toward security to indicate it was okay for them to get closer. "Let's talk backstage."

Chloe smiled back and nodded a little, "looks like you're incredibly popular," she told her once they had squeezed their way in through the side door and were walking down the hallway.

She grinned at that. "I'm the daughter of John Zatarra," she explained. "It's a reputation thing."

Oliver smiled, as well. "You're living up to his name," he told her.

"How many times a week do you do this?" Chloe asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Five nights a week. I take Sundays and Mondays off for other...business," she said vaguely, leading them into her dressing room and sitting down in a chair, motioning for them to do the same.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and glanced at Oliver for a second then took one of the chairs, sitting down, "thank you for meeting with us."

Oliver glanced at her, as well, then took the seat beside her. "Yeah, thank you."

"It sounded important. And a girl has to make time for her friends." Zatanna smiled at them. "So what's up?"

With a deep breath, Chloe sat up a little, "we're trying to locate someone and... we can't seem to."

She cocked her head to the side. "Who are you trying to find?"

Oliver leaned forward a little. "Lex Luthor," he admitted.

Chloe glanced at Oliver and pursed her lips together then looked over at Zatanna again.

She paused, studying them for a moment. "I see," she murmured. "I can try and see what I can do."

"We'd appreciate it," he said quietly.

Nodding, Chloe sat up a little, "last we saw him, he was in Kansas, but he seems to have vanished, I don't know if that helps you at all."

"I'll need something of his. It might help me locate him easier. I don't suppose either of you have anything that belonged to him?"

Oliver hesitated a moment and didn't look at Chloe before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He held it out to Zatanna.

Chloe paused and raised her eyebrows then frowned at Oliver, confused.

Zatanna opened the box to reveal a ring with a shining green rock. A small smile touched her lips. "This should do."

Narrowing her eyes a little, Chloe glanced from the ring to Oliver, not only had he not mentioned he had it, but she had no idea why or how he had gotten it.

"It'll take some time. And I can't make any promises." She looked between them. "But I'll give it my best."

"Appreciated, Zatanna," he said quietly, not looking over at Chloe.

Chloe's jaw tightened slightly when he still didn't look at her and she turned to Zatanna, "just let us know if you need help with anything or if you find anything."

"Absolutely. Are you two staying in this hotel?" Zatanna asked, looking between them.

"Yeah," Chloe reached inside her small purse, "room 5317," she told her after checking for the number on the key, trying her best not to let Zatanna notice her annoyance.

She paused at that, a faint smile quirking her lips. "Just one room?"

Oliver shifted awkwardly in his seat, glancing at Chloe and then at Zatanna, though he remained silent.

Chloe gave Oliver a look when he finally glanced in her direction, the fact that he was letting _her_ handle this wasn't doing much to help, "it's big enough that we don't even have to _look_ at each other," Chloe assured Zatanna.

At that, Oliver's jaw tightened. "Yeah, that would be incredibly strange if we did," he responded flatly.

Zatanna looked between them and raised an eyebrow. "Right. Well, then. I'll just...get to work on this." She held the ring up. "And I'll call you if I need any assistance or have questions."

After giving Oliver one more look, Chloe turned her attention back to Zatanna as she moved to stand up, "thank you."

"We'll wait to hear from you," Oliver said, rising to his feet, as well, and ignoring the look Chloe gave him as best as he could.

Zatanna nodded a little and watched them head away, raising her other eyebrow, as well. In her expert opinion, the two of them clearly needed some assistance. And she was their friend, after all. Who better to help them out?

"Satirev," she murmured, her eyes flashing a bright blue color for a brief moment. Then she smiled. If she was reading things correctly, and she was pretty damn sure she was, that spell should take care of things just right.


	2. Chapter 2

**Room 5317, MGM Grand -- February 13, 2011**

They didn’t say anything on their way up to the hotel, in fact, Chloe was doing her best not to even look at him. She slid the key into the door and pushed it open, sliding her shoes off as soon as she was standing by her suitcase. She was still irritated, but right now, she just wanted to ignore him and change into comfortable clothes then go to bed. 

“Think she’ll find anything?” he asked as he followed her into the room. Even though he didn’t really feel like talking to her after her remark to Zatanna, it didn’t feel right to just ignore her either. 

“I hope so,” Chloe sighed, apparently silence wasn’t an option, but she could deal with small talk.

“It’d be nice,” he said, setting his own key card down on the table and dropping down onto the sofa. 

“And if she doesn’t, we’ll just be wasting more time,” she blurted out, frowning a little. 

“She’s our best bet at this point, Chloe. It’s not like we’ve had any actual solid leads lately,” he responded, frowning, too.

“No, but it doesn’t mean I can’t just pretend to be looking into something I have already looked into a hundred times before, better to keep busy,” she stilled, staring at him and frowning hard. 

Oliver stared at her. “To avoid me.” 

“Yes,” she spoke before she could stop herself and her eyes widened, it was like she suddenly had no control over her mouth.

“Yeah, somehow I’m not surprised, although I’m surprised you’re actually admitting to it.” He blinked, staring at her. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud.

Chloe stared at him, her jaw tight, “what the hell is going on?” She asked, staring at him, “you did something.” She accused, when she really hadn’t meant to, she just... thought it. 

“Of course I did,” he responded sarcastically. “Because everything bad that happens is always my fault, isn’t it? At least that’s how you always see it.” He moved away from her, shaking his head. 

“No,” Chloe snapped, frowning harder, “everything that happens is my fault. _That_ is how I see it.” She told him sharply. 

“Yeah, well, sometimes you’re kind of an idiot, Chloe,” he snapped, turning to look at her once more. 

She raised her eyebrows at that and crossed her arms over his shoulder, “well, isn’t this refreshing? I’m glad to hear what you _really_ think of me.”

“Well, when you say things like that, what do you want me to say?” he demanded, shaking his head. “That you’re right? That you are to blame for everything? Because it’s not true and my name isn’t _Clark Kent_!” 

Her eyes widened a little and she blinked, staring at him, “is this your _only_ argument? To bring up Clark? To point out some more how much of an idiot I am for choosing to stay in Metropolis with him rather than going with you to Star City? I already know that, Oliver. I know I made the wrong choice _again_ and I don’t need the reminder from you!”

He stared back at her in disbelief. “That’s not what I’m doing, Chloe,” he said with annoyance, his jaw tightening. “But considering Clark is pretty much the root of all _your_ problems, all of _our_ problems, yeah, I do feel it necessary to bring him up. Because I’m not the one who’s spent the last two years blaming you for every single bad thing that happened. Maybe I’m just trying to show you that I’m _not_ that guy!” 

“I never said you were!” She told him, taking a step closer, “and _no_ , Clark has nothing to do with our problems, he hasn’t even been around for over six months, Oliver! You just like blaming him because he is one of the few people who actually manage to make you feel insecure and it _kills_ you! But believe it or not, not all of my actions have something to do with Clark.”

He chuckled humorlessly at that. “No, I’m blaming him because I can’t stay angry with _you_ ,” he responded evenly. “And I realize not _all_ of your actions have to do with the idiot alien. Some of them have to do with Jimmy and Davis, but somehow blaming a dead guy seems terrible and excuse me for not wanting to bring up the other name so I can avoid upsetting you anymore than you usually are when we fight.” 

Her chest tightened and so did her jaw at his words, “and here you go again trying to protect me, if you have something to say about Jimmy or Davis, just say it!” She told him, her voice shaking slightly, “I know how much everyone warned me, I know how much _you_ warned me about Davis and I still did what I did, and I might as well have killed Jimmy myself.”

He stared at her. “Is that _really_ what you think _I_ think, Chloe?” He took a step toward her. 

“It’s what you _should_ think,” she told him, taking a deep breath, “because it doesn’t matter what my intentions were, it’s still what happened and just because you don’t want to admit to yourself that I was wrong for whatever reason, it doesn’t change the facts!”

“I never said you _weren’t_ wrong,” he responded. “But just because you were wrong doesn’t mean I was right. Or that Clark was right. We _all_ screwed up when it came to Davis, Chloe, and _that_ is a fact, too.” He shook his head again. “We let it divide us. We didn’t go at the issue as a team, and _that’s_ what the biggest problem was in that case. We stopped listening to each other, stopped communicating and trusting one another, and I’m just as to blame for _that_ as anyone, if not more so.” 

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest once more, “no, if I had let Clark send him to the Phantom Zone like he wanted to, things would have gone differently,” she said, looking away from him.

At that, Oliver actually snorted. “Yeah, because I’m sure Clark would have actually followed through. Wake up, Chloe. He _jumped_ on the chance to use black Kryptonite against Davis because he wanted to save Davis’ human side just as much as you did. The difference here is that even after Davis killed Jimmy, Clark _still_ had faith that an alien dictator could turn out to be a good person, but you actually learned from it.” 

“Because Clark would rather believe the people he shared a planet with for a few months of his life than the people he grew up with and did nothing but support him in everything he did!” Her eyes widened at her words and she stilled again. She had never actually said that to anyone.

Oliver paused, too, staring at her with equally wide eyes. “It occurs to me that something...isn’t right here,” he said, trying to be careful with his words. “Because I’m pretty sure neither of us would be saying any of these things if...” His voice trailed off.

This time, Chloe kept her mouth shut and shook her head, her eyes still wide as she stared at him.

“Zatanna,” he said with a soft sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “She must have done something to us.” 

Chloe nodded, looking at him for a long moment, “we need to make her reverse it.”

“I’ll call her,” he said, pulling his cell phone out and dialing her number. He groaned as it went to voicemail. “It’s me. Call me when you get this message.” He sighed softly and hung up. 

She watched him for a moment then blew out a breath and walked over to sit down on the edge of the bed. 

“We should probably just...try not to talk the rest of the night.” He sighed again. “I’ll take the couch.” 

“Oka-” she started then changed to, “don’t, I sleep better with you.” Chloe quickly lifted a hand to cover her mouth and looked away from him. 

His eyes softened at her admission. “Yeah, well, I sleep better with you, too,” he said quietly. 

Chloe blinked and looked over at him, her eyes wide again. 

He shrugged a little, looking down self-consciously. “I’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with,” he told her.

Nodding slightly, she moved to stand up, “we can share the bed,” she whispered, “I’ll go change.”

“All right,” he said softly, moving toward the bed as he watched her head toward the bathroom. He rubbed his hands over his face, shrugging out of his suit jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. 

She took her time in the bathroom, changed into a pair of pajamas and came back out after about ten minutes. If she wasn’t so freaked out by the fact that she had been telling Oliver exactly what was on her mind, she would be really pissed at Zatanna right at that moment.

Oliver was already lying on the far side of the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turned his head to look at her when she entered the room again, offering her a small, hesitant smile. 

Chloe returned the smile with a small, nervous one of her own then pulled the covers back and got into bed, her stomach tight the entire time. Once she was looking at the ceiling too, she pursed her lips together, “we should try not to talk to anyone else in case we just start blurting things out to them too.”

He grimaced at that thought. “Yeah, that’s...a very good point.” He sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment. 

Nodding, she took a deep breath and adjusted on the bed, reaching to turn off the lamp on her side, “better if we just go to sleep and hope this is over by tomorrow morning.”

“Here’s hoping,” he murmured, turning onto his side. “Night, Chloe.” His voice was soft.

“Night, Ollie,” she whispered, glancing at him for a second then sighing and closing her eyes. 

* * * 

**Room 5317, MGM Grand -- February 14, 2011.**

He wasn’t entirely surprised when he woke up to discover his arm had wound around Chloe’s waist at some point in the middle of the night, his face buried in her hair. He smiled faintly, kissing the back of her neck without really thinking about it.

Chloe let out a breath and shivered slightly, closing her eyes tightly as a smile appeared on her face even as she started to wake up. He felt her shiver and nuzzled her neck gently, his arm tightening around her.

Without opening her eyes, she turned her head slightly toward him and wrapped her arm on top of his.

“Morning,” he whispered against her ear, kissing her there.

She shivered again and smiled a little more, “hi.”

He grinned. “It’s really nice to wake up like this.” 

“Best way to wake up,” she whispered, sighing contently. 

“Well, I could think of one way to make it better.” He nuzzled her nose with his and kissed her softly on the mouth. 

Chloe grinned a little more and turned in his arms until she was facing him, “yeah?”

“Mmhmm.” He grinned back at her, raising an eyebrow and sliding a hand up to cup her cheek.

“Wanna share?” She asked, leaning in, brushing her nose against his.

“Don’t I usually?” he teased, kissing the corner of her mouth. 

“Every opportunity you get,” she teased quietly, feeling relaxed.

“Only with you.” His voice was soft as he trailed his hand lightly down her spine.

She shivered again, watching him for a moment then shifting close, “since we started?” She asked, then paused. She hadn’t meant to actually ask that, even if she was wondering if he had slept with anyone else since they started their arrangement. 

Oliver met her eyes. “Since before that,” he said quietly, leaning his forehead against hers. 

Chloe paused, looking at him for a moment, “I--” she wanted to talk about the fact that they were still under the spell Zatanna had put on them, but it wasn’t what she was really thinking, “why?”

His eyebrows furrowed a little at that. “Why? Why haven’t I slept with anyone else?” He searched her eyes, not entirely sure what she was asking.

“Yeah...” she said quietly, pursing her lips together, now she was awake and she was making sense of what she was saying, yet she couldn’t stop herself from speaking.

“Because I don’t want to be with anyone else, Chloe,” he said quietly, his thumb stroking her cheek lightly.

Chloe let out her breath and swallowed, “I keep screwing things up and I keep pushing you away and you don’t give up.” She whispered, her eyes widening slightly.

“Because I _get_ you,” he murmured. “And I know you’re scared. Hell, so am I.” He paused, realizing then that they were still under whatever spell Zatanna had cast over them. 

“You are?” She asked before she could stop herself, although she probably wouldn’t have stopped herself if she could have.

“Of course I am, Chloe.” He sighed softly. “It’s not like I have great luck at the whole love thing either.” He didn’t even think about the implication of his words as he spoke. “I don’t want to get hurt anymore than you do.” 

Her face fell and she looked away, pursing her lips together, her heart was beating fast and she was glad she at least had control over her body, “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just so scared we’ll be in too deep and things won’t work out and I won’t have you in my life anymore.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “I’m scared of that too. But maybe it’s time we face the fact that... _this_ isn’t enough for either of us.” He swallowed hard. “This isn’t what you want, and it’s not what I want.” 

She pursed her lips together tightly, trying to stop herself from speaking, but it was useless, “no, it’s not,” she whispered, looking up at him, her eyes big.

Oliver exhaled slowly, gazing at her for a moment longer. “We’re hurting each other more like this,” he whispered. 

“I know...” she murmured, looking at him, “but I don’t know where we’re supposed to go next.”

He was quiet for a moment. “The way I see it...we have three options. And one we’ve already tried.” 

Chloe reached to place her hand on his arm and raised her eyebrows, “what are the others?”

He closed his eyes for a moment. “We get away from each other. For good. No contact.” His chest tightened because he knew there was a very real possibility she might actually choose that option. He opened his eyes to look at her again. “Or we try this for real. Not just friends who have fun together from time to time. Not just because it’s convenient or easy.” 

Her chest tightened too and she swallowed hard, her vision getting blurry with tears, “the last thing I want is to be away from you.”

“I don’t want that either, Chloe.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But the ball’s in your court.” His voice was quiet. The ball had _always_ been in her court. 

She shifted closer to him and shook her head, “we couldn’t stay away from each other, not unless,” her stomach dropped, “unless I wasn’t part of the team anymore.”

His stomach tightened at her words. “If that’s what you want, I’ll step back from the team.” His voice was quiet and he looked past her to stare at the wall.

“It’s not what I want,” she said quietly, looking at him again, “I’m just... scared of the other option.”

“I know,” he whispered, leaning his head against hers. 

Chloe hesitated for a moment then shifted closer to him and wrapped her arm around him.

Oliver slid his arm around her, as well, rubbing his nose lightly against hers. “You know me better than anyone else has _ever_ known me, Chloe,” he whispered. “And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” 

Her chest was so tight she felt like she couldn’t breathe, “I know...” she whispered sincerely, closing her eyes, “I know you would do anything, that’s not what scares me.”

“Then tell me what does,” he said quietly, his eyes pleading with her even though she wasn’t looking at him. “Tell me what it is and we can work on it, Chloe. Together.” 

“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you,” she murmured, keeping her eyes closed for a moment longer before looking up at him with wide eyes.

Oliver held his breath for a moment, gazing at her. “I know,” he admitted quietly. 

“I don’t want to lose you,” she told him quietly, “but neither one of us ever had a relationship work before.”

“But there’s always a first time for everything,” he told her, propping himself up on one elbow. “And I think you’re worth risking it. I think _we’re_ worth the risk, Chloe.” 

She watched him for a long moment then sighed deeply, “it’s the only option we have.”

“Not if it’s not what you want,” he said quietly, looking down.

Chloe sat up after a long moment and sighed, looking down at her lap, “it is what I want, I’m just scared to admit to it.”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sitting up as well and sliding his arms around her waist, tugging her into his lap. “I meant what I said that day,” he whispered against her ear. “We never talked about it. But I did mean it. I still do.” 

She didn’t hesitate before wrapping her arms around his neck, “I know...” she told him quietly, closing her eyes, “I meant it too... I do love you, Ollie.”

Oliver felt his chest tighten at her words and he closed his eyes, as well, his arms tightening around her. “I love you, too,” he whispered. 

Her arms tightened around him and she shivered slightly then blinked before closing her eyes again.

He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. “Then let’s try this,” he whispered.

Chloe lifted her head after a moment and pulled back to look at him, taking a deep breath, “okay.”

He held her gaze. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered, taking a deep breath and lifting a hand to his cheek, “maybe it scares me so much because... maybe it’s the real thing.”

He leaned into her touch, then kissed her softly. “We’ll figure it out,” he whispered. “Together.” 

Nodding a little, she looked at him for a moment, then leaned in, brushing her thumb against his cheek as she pressed her lips against his.


	3. Chapter 3

**Room 5317, MGM Grand -- February 14, 2011**

They were still sitting on the bed, arms wrapped around each other and talking quietly between kisses, but Chloe hadn’t been feeling the impulse to just blurt out everything that came to mind to him, and Ollie didn’t seem to be feeling it anymore either. 

“I think we broke the spell.” She told him quietly.

He nodded slightly, his head resting against hers. “I think we did, too,” he agreed softly.

Chloe smiled a little and brushed her nose against his, stilling when there was a knock on the door, she paused and frowned moving out of his lap, “think its Zatanna?”

“Could be,” he agreed, although part of him hoped not. Mostly he just wanted to spend the day curled up with Chloe in bed without interruption. 

She stood up and walked over toward the door, “who else would be knocking?”

He yawned a little, stretching his arms over his head. “I don’t know,” he said, not really thinking about it. He’d forgotten that he’d arranged for a delivery that morning.

Pausing, she glanced at him and walked to the door, opening slightly at first then frowning before opening it all the say. 

“Ms. Sullivan?” The man asked and she nodded slightly, eyes on what he had in his hands, a huge bouquet of red, yellow and orange tulips and a box, both of which the man held out in her direction, “delivery for you.”

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes wide as she took it. 

“Happy Valentine’s day,” he told her before turning around and walking away.

At the words, her eyes widened even more, she had forgotten, again. Blinking a couple of times, she closed the door and turned to look at Oliver, the bouquet was so big, she could barely see him.

Oliver offered her a small, sheepish grin. “Right. I forgot about that,” he admitted, rising to his feet. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said softly.

She placed the flowers over the table and looked down at the box, “you did this?”

He hesitated a second, stepping a little closer to her. “Yeah. I uh...I know that technically it violates our ‘no gifts’ clause, but I figured Valentine’s Day could be an exception.” 

Chloe stared at him and let out a breath, trying for a smile, even if it was a nervous version of one, “well, you kinda destroyed that clause with the satellite.”

Oliver reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, anxious to soothe her nervousness away. “That’s true,” he admitted quietly. “I’m not really great with following rules, am I?” 

“No, you really aren’t...” she relaxed slightly, “and I guess the no gifts clause kinda goes with the no commitment clause and since we kinda screwed that one up...”

At that, he grinned brightly. “Good point.” He leaned in and kissed her softly.

She couldn’t help but smile at the grin on his face, she returned the kiss and looked up at him, “happy Valentine’s day.” She whispered.

He relaxed when he felt her begin to do the same. “Thank you.” He smiled at her, winding his arms around her waist. “You gonna open that box?” 

Chloe nodded a little and looked down at the box she still had in her hand, raising an eyebrow at him before opening it and relaxing when she saw chocolate inside, she grinned a little and looked up at him. “this is a gift you can never go wrong with, thank you.”

He grinned back at her. “You are very welcome.” He brushed his nose against hers. 

She grinned a little more and pressed her lips against his for a moment, “I’ll even share,” she promised, “considering I didn’t get you anything...” even if she already had plans for changing that.

Oliver shrugged a little, kissing her again. “You did, actually,” he said softly.

Her expression softened and she placed the chocolate next to the flowers over the table then wrapped both arms around him, “it doesn’t count if you gave me the same gift.”

“It totally counts,” he said with a grin, resting his forehead against hers.

Chloe smiled and shook her head, “okay, it counts, so I can eat all that chocolate by myself.” She teased.

“And when you’re done, I can buy you more.” His grin brightened. 

She raised her eyebrows, “then I’ll be huge and you’ll be bankrupt,” she pointed out, smirking.

He chuckled. “I think it’ll take more than chocolates for either of those things to happen.” 

“I don’t want to find out,” she told him, brushing her nose against his, “besides, you don’t have to buy me anything.”

“I know I don’t,” he admitted, pulling her a little closer. 

Chloe hugged him tighter as she stepped closer, “just keep that in mind,” she said softly.

“Will do,” Oliver promised, kissing her cheek. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t do it on occasion just because I _want_ to.” 

“Just... don’t overdo, okay?” She told him, raising her eyebrows.

“Does that mean I _can’t_ have your name carved into the moon?” He flashed her a grin.

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh, she leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth, “that does count as overdoing so, no.”

He kissed her in response, then pulled away to look at her, raising his eyebrows. “What if it’s for a special occasion?” he teased.

“Still no,” she told him, smirking, “like I told you before Christmas, the Satellite is gift enough for a lifetime, you really shouldn’t give me anything else.”

“One of the perks of being a billionaire _and_ being one who doesn’t follow rules well.” He winked at her. 

She shook her head and smiled, biting down on her bottom lip for a second then crinkling her nose, “you’re incorrigible,” she told him before leaning in and kissing him deeply.

Oliver smiled against her mouth, returning the kiss without hesitation. “And we haven’t even made use of that jacuzzi yet,” he teased.

“We haven’t...” she agreed and pursed her lips together, “maybe we should, and I guess we can take the chocolate with us.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Have I ever mentioned that I love the way you think?” 

“Once or twice,” she grinned, brushing her nose against his again and biting down on her bottom lip, “it’s all peanut-free, right?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver kissed the corner of her mouth. “Better than that,” he told her. “It’s all coffee-flavored chocolates.” 

Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled back to look at him, “in that case, I’m afraid you will only get to try them through kissing me.”

“Such a punishment,” he mocked with amusement in his eyes. 

“All I want to do is to torture you after all,” she teased, grinning softly at him.

Oliver grinned back at her. “Just remember, turnabout is fair play,” he murmured, kissing her jaw.

Chloe shivered a little and closed her eyes, smiling as she slid her fingers through his hair, “I think we’ve done enough talking for the time being, don’t you?”

“Uh huh,” he agreed, sliding his arms around her once more and pulling her close. 

She took a deep breath and looked at him for a moment, brushing her fingertips over his cheek then leaning in and kissing him, slowly, but deeply. There was a lot about this whole relationship thing that they still had to figure out, but this was a good start, at least they were being honest about their feelings and although that still made her a little nervous, it helped to know that he was nervous about it too.

* * * 

Oliver laid his head back against the bathroom floor, blowing out a breath as he sank down a little farther into the hot water. His arms were wound tightly around her from behind. “I have to say, as Valentine’s Days go, this is definitely the best one I’ve had.” 

She rubbed her fingertips over his arm lazily and rested her head on his shoulder, turning it slightly to kiss his jaw, “this is the first time I actually celebrated it how it’s supposed to be celebrated,” she admitted.

He brushed his fingers lightly over her stomach. He wasn’t entirely surprised by the confession. Even though they had been in the middle of their arrangement the year before, Oliver had been in Star City on business, and while he’d sent her roses, it wasn’t the same thing. “Me too,” he said very softly. “At least the first time it’s actually mattered.” 

Chloe closed her eyes and nodded slightly, touching his fingers with her own, she had been with Jimmy during two Valentine’s day, but they hadn’t celebrated it, they had had an argument, possibly over Clark in one, and in the other, she had been so busy helping Clark and Oliver with Lex, she had completely forgotten about it, and so had he. Or at least that was what he told her. 

Not that it mattered, Chloe knew, she had for a long time now, that things would never have worked out with Jimmy. Because although she loved him and although she was forcing herself to believe at the time that that was as good as it got, she knew better now. 

She and Jimmy had never been the most popular people, had never had anyone chasing after them, paying attention to them, so they had clung to one another and even with all of their fights and all the signs that things were not going to work out, they needed that security. But that was all it had been, the need to feel like they belonged with someone. 

It had never been like it is with Oliver, seeing Jimmy never made her heart skip a beat, never made her hold her breath just so she could look at him without any interruptions. Whenever she couldn’t see him for a while, she didn’t feel like a part of her was missing, she never felt the overwhelming need to repeat, over and over again how much she loved him and do her best to show him in every touch, in every kiss. 

And that was exactly what Oliver did to her, she still got excited to see him whenever they had to be apart, she was always ready to throw her arms around him and kiss him and forget about everything else, the intensity of what they had overwhelmed her and it did scare her because it was so strong, so _real_. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was always going to be that way, considering he had been affecting her like that for over a year now. 

Oliver sensed that she had drifted off into her own thoughts and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder, closing his eyes. He’d meant what he’d said. Spending the day with her like this was the first real, meaningful Valentine’s Day he’d ever had with anyone. He and Tess had never spent the holiday together--their relationship had only lasted a few short months after they’d escaped from the island. 

He and Lois hadn’t been together that long, either. Frankly, his relationship with Chloe had been the longest, most grounded relationship he’d ever had with another person at all. And not just in the romantic sense. Long before they’d ever gotten together, they’d been friends, co-workers. He’d depended on her, trusted her more than he had most other people he’d known. “I have a confession to make,” he murmured, kissing her neck softly. 

Chloe opened her eyes and shivered a little, lifting a hand to cup his face, “yeah?” She asked quietly, her body was completely relaxed, between Oliver, the water, and everything they had just done, she felt more relaxed than she had in a very long time. 

He nodded a little, leaning into her touch. “I knew,” he said quietly. “Before we ever started anything. I knew it wouldn’t stay just friends with benefits.” 

She raised her eyebrows at that and smiled slightly in surprise, “you did?”

“Yeah.” He turned his head and kissed the palm of her hand. “See, you’re special,” he murmured. “I knew I was going to fall for you. It was just a matter of time.” 

Her face softened and she watched him, “why didn’t you run?”

A small smile tugged at his lips. “I was already under your spell,” he teased softly. 

Chloe smiled slowly and watched him, leaning in and kissing his cheek softly, “I should consider myself very lucky then.” She told him in a quiet voice.

He rested his chin on her shoulder, leaning his head against hers. “I was lucky first,” he said just as quietly.

She traced a fingertip over his cheek and smiled softly then sighed a little, “I’m sorry I made us go through so much, wait so long...” she said sincerely, “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“Shh,” he murmured, turning his head and kissing her cheek softly. “It was worth the wait, Chloe. You don’t need to apologize.” 

Chloe looked at him for a moment then shook her head a little, turning slightly so she could wrap an arm around him, “I’ve known for a long time that I was falling for you too,” she smiled a little, “since around the time Checkmate kidnapped you.”

Oliver gazed at her intently. “I was a goner long before then,” he admitted with a small smile. 

She cocked her head a little and pursed her lips together, they hadn’t been together very long before that, “when?” She asked quietly. 

He grinned, looking a little sheepish as he glanced down. “That first night,” he said, glancing at her again. “But uh...when you saved my life months before then it made me see you in a whole different light. Like I’d never really seen you until then.” 

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and watched him quietly for a long moment, then smiled slowly, “you saved yourself,” she told him quietly.

“Because you made me.” He searched her eyes. 

“The team and I,” she corrected him, brushing her nose against his but holding his gaze, “we just gave you a nudge in the right direction.”

“Credit where credit’s due,” he said softly, nodding a little, but not looking away from her. “But we both know you arranged it.” 

She pursed her lips and smiled a little, cocking her head, “it’s in my job description, mastermind things when necessary.”

“My girlfriend the mastermind. I like it.” He grinned at her.

Chloe grinned and wrinkled her nose a little at the title, “I guess you _are_ my boyfriend now, huh?”

“Unless you’d rather call me your Prince Charming,” he teased.

She laughed softly and shook her head, “Prince doesn’t sound fitting for a Queen,” she teased.

“Royalty either way,” he joked, tickling her lightly. 

At that, she squirmed and laughed again, well, more like a giggle, but she would deny if anyone accused her of giggling, “well, you are debasing yourself,” she teased.

Oliver chuckled softly, his eyes bright. “I’ll show you debasing,” he warned, kissing her and then ducking beneath the water. 

Chloe started kissing him back then gasped, pulling away and pushing herself back up to the surface when he pulled her under water with him.

He grinned and raised his eyebrows at her, leaning in and kissing her again. 

She looked at him for a moment then turned, laying on top of him, pressing her breasts against his chest as she kissed him back, except she kissed him hard.

He groaned involuntarily, matching her intensity with his own and sliding his hands down to cup her backside, keeping her against him. 

Chloe gasped against his mouth and moaned as her body pressed against his.

Oliver swallowed hard, biting down lightly on her lower lip and then soothing it with his tongue. 

She let her mouth fall open for him and smirked as much as she could as she opened her eyes and looked at him, almost a year after they started having sex and they still seemed to need each other so often, they were all over each other as soon as they were alone, and their need just seemed to grow the more time they spent together. Chloe was definitely not complaining, just idly wondering if it would always be this way between the two of them.

After a long moment, he shifted abruptly, turning her around so that her back was against his chest once more, a smirk on his lips. He gently nudged her thighs apart with his knees. 

Chloe slid her legs open and draped them over his legs, locking her feet under his legs and raising her eyebrows as she turned her head to look up at him, smirking as she shifted on top of him, deliberately rubbing her backside against him. 

“Tease,” he murmured, nipping at her earlobe as his hands slid up to cup her breasts. 

She shivered and lifted her hands to cup his hands, turning her head and running her tongue over his neck, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No?” He shuddered a little and pressed himself against her entrance, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. 

Chloe moaned against his skin and pressed down against him, moving her legs further apart, “no,” she answered, although she wasn’t interested in the conversation anymore, so she nibbled on his neck before sucking on the spot.

Oliver smirked, gritting his teeth a little and resisting the urge to push into her, holding himself in check even though he knew he was torturing them both.

“Ollie,” she pleaded, rocking her hips back into him as she kissed the spot on his neck. 

“Hm?” He grinned a little, spreading her legs just a little further with his knees and then slowly pressing up into her. 

She shuddered, feeling him sliding inside of her and grinned a little against his neck, “tease,” she told him, pressing her lips against his neck again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he murmured, shifting to kiss her mouth as he thrust into her the rest of the way. 

Chloe moaned against his lips then kissed him back, moving her body against his slowly as adjusted to him. 

Oliver moved within her slowly, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I love you,” he whispered.

Her stomach clenched at his words and she opened her eyes, looking at him even as they moved slowly, she lifted a hand that was still covering his to his cheek, “I love you,” she told him quietly.

He lifted one of his hands to her cheek, as well, gazing at her intently, his breathing unsteady as they made love. 

She kept her eyes on him, her heart beating fast as she moved together, before today, she didn’t know things could be even more intense than they normally were between them, but their first time together this morning had proved her wrong, normally she would avoid gazing at him too intensely, would look away in fear that he would see everything she was feeling in her eyes. 

But now she didn’t have to hide it from him anymore, she could let him see everything, even as she got closer, as they moved faster, as she started moaning at every thrust, she kept looking at him, _wanting_ him to see everything she was feeling.

Oliver kept his eyes on her as well, leaning in and kissing her softly, the feel of her around him, of the hot water lapping against their bodies was overwhelming. 

Chloe kissed him breathlessly and took his hand in hers then moved it down her body, pressing his fingers between her legs and moaning against his mouth as she did.

He groaned softly at the sound and thrust up into her a little harder, his fingers rubbing against her with expertise. He broke the kiss to lean his forehead against her temple, closing his eyes as he let his fingers work her body. 

She held onto his arm and pressed her nose against his, crying his name once as her movements became more desperate as she got even closer to her release. 

Oliver buried his face against her shoulder, thrusting up into her harder, faster than before, the water sloshing out of the jacuzzi and onto the bathroom floor. He pressed his fingers against her more firmly at the same time, sensing how close she was. “Come for me, Chloe,” he whispered. 

This time, she screamed his name, letting her head fall back against his shoulder as her back arched and her body shuddered as her orgasm hit her. 

He pressed a kiss to her neck, feeling her shudder against him, her inner muscles tightening around him as he thrust into her once more, gasping her name as his own orgasm hit. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes tightly and easing the grip he had on her a little. “God, Chloe,” he whispered.

She was panting as she rested back against him, her eyes still closed as her body relaxed, “you’re amazing,” she told him breathlessly as she turned her head and kissed his neck.

“ _We’re_ amazing,” he corrected her, laying his head back against the floor once again.

Chloe smiled lazily at that and nuzzled his neck, “that too,” she whispered. 

He smiled, lifting a hand to her hair and resting his head against hers. 

“Can we just do this every day?” She asked in a whisper, smiling softly as she kept her eyes closed. 

At that, he grinned, kissing her shoulder softly. “Works for me.” 

She turned her head a little and kissed his jaw, “although, I think we need to move this to the bed soon.”

“Before our skin starts to get all wrinkly,” he teased.

“And before there is no water left in the jacuzzi,” she told him, grinning softly then taking a deep breath and reluctantly moving to try and sit up.

Oliver groaned involuntarily at the loss of her body against his. Then he exhaled slowly, reluctantly rising to his feet and holding his hand out to her as he climbed out of the jacuzzi. 

Chloe was grateful for the help since her legs were still shaking from the last round, so she took his hand and stepped out carefully, making a face when she saw that there was water all over the bathroom, “we made a mess...”

“I’ll clean it up later,” he assured her, tugging her closer to him and kissing her softly. 

“We’ll _worry_ about it later,” she told him in a whisper before returning the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him once more, not wanting to lose body contact if she didn’t have to.

Oliver nodded slightly, sliding his arms around her, as well and slowly backing out of the bathroom. 

She rubbed her hand over his stomach unconsciously as they walked to the bedroom, not caring that they were both dripping wet as they made their way to the bed, her body was so relaxed, she was sure it wasn’t going to take much for her to fall asleep. 

He brushed his nose against hers, crawling into the bed and holding his arms out toward her. 

Chloe watched him for a second then let out a breath, between the look on his face, the way he was holding his arms out to her, waiting for her to crawl into them, and everything they had confessed to each other, she felt her stomach getting tight for a second but then her chest felt warm and her expression softened. 

She held his gaze and crawled toward him over the bed, she could see in his eyes everything she had been forcing herself _not_ to see before, because she’d been afraid of what it meant, but now, it was actually a look she hoped he never stopped giving her. She laid down in his arms and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

He watched as the uncertainty, the fear and nervousness flicker through her eyes and then watched as it passed and she slid into the bed and into his arms. He smiled softly and kissed her mouth, brushing his nose against hers as he lay his head down against the pillow. 

Chloe kissed him once more then laid her head on his pillow too, a soft smile on her lips as she rubbed her hand over his wet back, “we don’t have to leave here until Zatanna calls, right?” She whispered.

“Right,” he whispered back, gazing at her intently, reaching up and stroking her cheek gently.

She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again to look at him, “I love you,” and saying the words still made her nervous, but she meant them, “I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to admit it.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, searching her eyes. “We’re here now. And I love you too, Chloe.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “And we’ll just take our time.” 

Letting out her breath, she nodded a little, “just don’t let me do it again, okay? And if I try, well, have Lois yell at me if you can’t do it yourself,” she told him, smiling a little.

“Well, I’m afraid that you’re stuck with me now and...I’m not letting you go,” he informed her, flashing her a grin.

“Does that mean you’re kidnapping me and we’re never leaving this bed?” She asked hopefully.

“Well. As nice as this bed is, I think we can try out a variety of beds,” he teased. 

Chloe considered for a moment then shrugged, nodding, “as long as there’s a bed involved. Although, not necessarily every time,” she smirked a little.

“Jacuzzi’s are fun, too.” He smirked back at her. “And pools.” He leaned in and kissed her. “And beaches...” 

She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded, “and we still have to try that rooftop thing we never got to...” she told him, raising her eyebrows slowly.

A grin touched his lips. “Just name a time,” he murmured.

“I’ll let Arrow know when I’m available...” she told him in a whisper, leaning closer and brushing her lips against his but keeping her eyes on his.

Oliver rested his hand lightly against her neck, kissing her softly without breaking their gaze. 

Chloe returned the kiss but kept her eyes on him too, pulling back just slightly after a long moment and smiling softly, the fact that she had all of him and they knew all of each other just made this even better.

He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Let’s get some rest,” he said softly, tugging her closer to him.

Sighing deeply, she nodded a little and adjusted against him, getting even more comfortable, if that was possible and pressing her nose against his neck as she closed her eyes.

Oliver closed his eyes, resting a hand against the back of her head and closing his eyes as well. “Love you,” he murmured as he drifted off to sleep.

Chloe smiled and pressed again against his skin, “love you too,” she mumbled snuggling even closer and falling asleep almost instantly. Definitely the best Valentine’s day she’d ever had.

* * * 

**Dining Room, MGM Grand -- February 15, 2011**

Zatanna was already sitting at a table when she spotted Chloe and Oliver entering the room. A smile spread across her face as she realized they were holding hands. 

Chloe looked and felt a lot more comfortable than she did last time they saw Zatanna just twenty-four hours ago, she smiled back but raised an eyebrow, even if she was grateful for the outcome of the spell, she was still going to ask some questions.

Oliver raised an eyebrow as well, giving Chloe’s hand a squeeze. 

Zatanna’s smile brightened and she leaned back in her chair as they took the seats across from her. “Definitely better now,” she commented.

“I suppose we have you to thank for that,” Chloe said, smirking a little, “what was that?”

“A truth spell,” she admitted with an amused smirk. “Completely simple, really.” 

“A truth spell,” Chloe echoed in a whisper and raised her eyebrows, “that could have been... pretty dangerous for people like us.”

Zatanna shook her head a little. “It was only for the two of you.” 

“Oh,” Chloe glanced over at Oliver then pursed her lips together then nodded a little, “that’s better.”

Oliver sighed and gave her hand a squeeze, then looked at Zatanna, pausing for a moment. “Thank you.” His voice was quiet. 

She smiled, nodding slightly in response. “Glad I could help. In more ways than one.” She set a folder on the table. “Looks like you need to head South East.” 

At that, Chloe’s eyes widened and she leaned forward over the table, “you found him?”

“It’s not one hundred percent,” Zatanna admitted. “But the locator spell I performed this morning indicated that he’s in Florida.” 

“That’s more than we had before,” she glanced at Oliver then looked back at Zatanna, “thank you.”

“Anytime,” she said sincerely, studying them for a moment. “Be careful. And if you need anymore help...don’t hesitate to contact me.” 

Oliver gazed at her, nodding. “Thank you, Zatanna. We appreciate it. Really.” 

“All of it,” Chloe added, smiling softly at the other woman.

“Just don’t make me have to do it again.” She smirked at them. 

Chloe grinned and rolled her eyes, shaking her head and squeezing Ollie’s hand, looking at him for a moment before looking back at Zatanna, “trust me, we’re not planning on it.”


End file.
